Wildlife Emerging Pathogens Initiative, Planning Pathways and Partnerships for One Health Science

Many infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin, meaning they spillover from one species to another. These include new, emerging viruses such as highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, Ebola virus, Zika virus, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The complex interactions between human and wildlife hosts and the virus warrant a One Health approach, involving experts from a range of different fields to address these complex challenges. We have established a multi-disciplinary team through the Wildlife Emerging Pathogen Initiative (Wild EPI). Our expertise spans scales of study (from molecular to populations), hosts (mammalian and avian) and jurisdictions (national, international). By applying unique skill sets in genomics, virology, field and clinical epidemiology and human and animal health, we incorporate collective lessons learned from the pandemic to address known gaps in zoonotic pathogen surveillance and risk assessment. We propose a two day workshop that focuses on two plans of work. The first is centred around scientific excellence to continue developing research projects that build upon our initial work in discovering and understanding new pathogens in wildlife (workshop day 1). The second extends existing partnerships outside of Canada through the Royal Society of Canada to formulate a research blueprint, or plan for One Health research based on an international, intergovernmental plan to address health threats by the World Health Organization and its partners in plant, animal and ecosystem health (workshop day 2). Circulation of potential human pathogens in wildlife species constitute early warnings provide a clear opportunity to enhance pandemic prevention, preparedness and response capacity. Global biosecurity is highly dependent on early emerging pathogen detection and risk determination, and inter-jurisdictional collaboration is essential to human and animal health and ecological resilience.